Nease grad, cancer survivor, 'a regular kid'

When she was 12 years old, Alyssa Sandler and her two friends wrote a poem called "I'm Just Like You."

"Don't laugh at me. I'm just like you, even though the things I've been through," reads the poem.

Sandler, now 18 and a Nease High School graduate, has the framed poem hanging in her bedroom as a reminder that, just because she had cancer -- twice -- she's still "just a regular kid."

Sandler had leukemia when she was 3 and then relapsed when she turned 9. Both times she went through three years of chemotherapy. But you leave a conversation with Sandler remembering her bubbly smile, not her illness. And that's just how she wants it.

"I graduated with kids that have known me since fourth grade (when I had cancer), and they saw me walk across the stage and graduate just like the rest of them," she said.

Sandler has become a mentor to other cancer survivors and was asked to read her poem to a cancer support organization in New York City. She wrote the poem with two girlfriends while at a summer camp for children with cancer. Her friend Tali Twersky died shortly afterward.

The irony of Sandler's condition is that her father, Eric Sandler, is the chief of pediatrics oncology at Nemours in Jacksonville, and her mother, Marcy Sandler, worked as a social worker for children with chronic illnesses.

"People say if it was going to happen to a family, who better to deal with it?" said Marcy Sandler.

An Internet search showed Eric Sandler was selected as one of The Best Doctors In America by an independent company that ranks physicians for the public. His daughter likely had a lot do to with that.

"He learned about his patients through her," said Marcy Sandler. "I think it made him be a better doctor."

For instance, Alyssa had to take awful-tasting medicine sometimes four times a day, which was a challenge for a child. Her father found other, better-tasting medications to ease the problem.

There were also times when her father was on call when Alyssa had an emergency, and he had to treat her.

"He's my hero," she said. "I admire him. I know it was hard for me to go through it, but it must have been harder for him 'cause he's my dad."

Sandler's memories of cancer treatment when she was 3 are vague. But she vividly recalls going through chemotherapy when she was in third and fourth grade.

"I remember walking with my friends, and we were playing with my hair, and big chunks starting coming out," she said. "My friends were kind of freaked out. So, then we just shaved the rest off."

Alyssa wore a baseball cap, and, if anyone ever made fun, her friends stuck up for her.

Now she cuts her long, wavy brunette hair by choice. She soon will donate it for the third time to Locks of Love.

The years of medicine also left Alyssa with long-term effects, which make school harder. Her short-term memory is fuzzy, and her hand-eye coordination is off.

"It takes me longer to process things. I need more time on tests," she said. "I just have to work harder. I make flash cards and things."

Her hard work earned her a spot in the University of Florida's freshmen class. She will begin summer classes in June. Her older sister, Jenna, will be a senior at the school. And her two younger brothers can't wait to visit the girls during football season.

Alyssa is tested every year for cancer. She knows firsthand that a relapse is possible. But she offers hope for those in the midst of cancer treatment.

"I just want (people with cancer) to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You've just got to keep pushing," she said. "You can't give up. I've been there and look at me now. I've graduated."